The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Title: The Woman in Cabin 10
Author: Ruth Ware
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Year of Publication: 2016
Date of Publication: July 19, 2016
Pages: 352
ISBN-10: 1501132938
ISBN-13: 978-1501132933

Summary of The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

The Woman in Cabin 10 is a psychological thriller set aboard a luxury cruise ship. The story follows Lo Blacklock, a travel journalist. When Lo’s boss gets sick, she is invited to fill in and go on a luxury cruise liner to write an article and for some networking. The cruise ship itself is small, it only has about 20 passengers on board.

Lo honors the invitation even though she is at the time trying to recover from a recent traumatic event and dealing with problems in her own personal life.

One of the first nights, Lo realizes she does not have any makeup. She figures other women on board would have so she goes to the woman in cabin 10, which is next door to her. Later on, while she is sleeping in her cabin, she hears some scuffling that seem to be coming from next door and then a splash that sounds like someone was being thrown overboard.

Lo immediately calls the head of security and the captain however, no one seems to believe her as cabin 10 is unoccupied and has always been. Finding out this information, Lo begins to question her own perception although she remains adamant that about her experiences. 

As she digs deeper, Lo some information that puts her own life in danger.

Main Themes

The novel looks at themes of isolation, trust, and the reliability of perception. It brings to light the psychological toll of trauma and the struggle to separate truth from illusion. 

Writing Style

Ruth Ware’s writing draws readers into Lo’s increasingly disoriented perspective. As a reader, you feel the sense of urgency and dread, especially given the confined location of the book.

There is also a twist at the end of the book, which was very well done.

Impact of The Woman in Cabin 10

When this book came out, it started a lot of conversations about female leads who are unreliable narrators. You could rarely see a review of this book that did not reference similar books with lead characters whose memories could not be relied on due to factors such as drinking, depression and more. More specifically, people compared this book to The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, which came out a year earlier.

The Woman in Cabin 10 is being adapted into a film starring Keira Knightley and Guy Pearce, which is expected to air on Netflix later this fall.

The novel sparks discussions about trust, mental health, and the complexities of truth. 

What are your thoughts on this book? Have you had a chance to read it? Let us know in the comments!